This peaceful route up Mt. Airie feels a world away from the nearby slots.

A glutton for punishment, I took the harder route. As my legs churned and my lungs screamed for more oxygen, I quickly realized this stretch has significantly more elevation gain than most Hoosier trails—including Brown County’s Hesitation Point.

We asked three hiking and biking enthusiasts about their favorites.

“Brown County’s Green Valley guarantees a smile,” says Sally Marchand Collins. “It’s a fast, swooping trail that causes me to scream like a little girl as I launch off the top of each little roller-coaster peak.”

The geographic features revealed on the Indiana trails highlighted in this issue were surprising—from the prehistoric bog by the dunes to a sandstone canyon—making hiking and biking them all the more entertaining.